Last Updated：2025/11/25

Dictionary quizzes to help you remember vocabulary

(colloquial, often humorous, rhetorical question) Used as a response to a question such as How long will it take? or How big is it? when the length or size is unknown, infinite, variable, or relative.

音声機能が動作しない場合はこちらをご確認ください

See correct answer

how long is a piece of string

Edit Histories（0）

Source Word

how long is a piece of string

Phrase

colloquial humorous often rhetoric

(colloquial, often humorous, rhetorical question) Used as a response to a question such as "How long will it take?" or "How big is it?" when the length or size is unknown, infinite, variable, or relative.

Japanese Meaning

（皮肉や冗談を交えて）「答えが不定であったり、測り知れない、条件により変動する」という意味で使われる表現。例えば、『どのくらいかかるか』という質問に対して、具体的な数値が出せないための回答として用いられる。